The Path Comments by Kieron Gillen

it looks pretty cool. might give it a shot!

Calling Paul Morley and the Newsnight review team.......

I'd pretty much already decided I'd buy this long before release. Funny how some games are like that.

The game looks cool :) hope its not too exspensive :D

$10.

KG

stevetuck: £7.50 on Steam.

Sold!

God, I love Steam. The best thing to happen to games in years.

I'm finding this very intriguing. Well played Gillen, well played sir.

is this by the folks who did the "being an old lady in a graveyard" sim? i liked sitting down in that game. might be worth a punt if it's cheap enough.

[edit] hmmm seven squid...

It sounds awesome. I love these odd ball curio games. great review.

They should release this on PSN or XBLA as well. I love stuff like this.

Yeah, I like stuff thats a little bit different to balance out something where a press of R1 = shoot.

If they released this on PSN a certain SOMEONE would be appear instantly ranting about "NO GAMEPLAY".

It's reviews like these which make me check out Eurogamer on a daily basis. Going beyond the typical, and not always useful/meaningful, deconstruction of the game into gameplay, graphics, story, etc. and instead trying to convey the game as a whole.
Thanks for the review, Mr. Gillen.

I was reading about this game in a gaming magazine a few weeks ago.
Each of the six girls are different and each of them meet their own personal horrors along their path.

After Eurogamers opening sentence I am surprised to see the final score being a 7/10. Its generally a good score. Is it coming out only on PC?

@ beckyh: Yes, PC-only for now. Comments on the dev's website/blog suggest they'd like to put it on consoles, but currently don't have the means to do so

I bought this on Steam after a piece on RockPaperShotgun simply because I was intrigued by the premise and wanted to play it before I read too much more it. As an experience and to see what games are capable of, it's worth it, but the (admittedly minor) frustrations of playing it and the lure of other games mean that so far, I haven't progressed beyond the stories of 2 of the sisters. Will revisit it though.

Oceanclub: I find it works best if you play a girl at a time. Maybe two.

KG

I'm definatly getting this

I'm not sure whether I prefer your or John's review better. I picked up on a lot more of the things about it that you did, although I was just as deeply disturbed and uncomfortable as John mentioned he was.

I think what annoys me the most is that I'd have a hard time recommending this game to someone, as it isn't fun. It's an important exploration and experiment in the field of - if not games, then - interactive narritive. And it's certainly enjoyable in a fascinating and thought-provoking sort of way (rather than a visceral way as most games are).

The game becomes quite a personal connection between you and the girls... something that's very hard to put into words. I guess it builds similar connections as you do with April Ryan and Zoe Castillo; the characters are forced through unpleasant things and as a result of you being forced to put them through it, you form quite a strong bond.

I guess, as Shan Yu apparently once wrote; "Live with a man 40 years, share his house, his meals, speak on every subject. Then tie him up and hold him over the volcano's edge. And on that day you will finally meet the man."

Super review, it nailed my experience with 'The Path' perfectly.

It's not oddball for oddball's sake, on the whole I found it genuinely engaging but it can be a tad tedious, you do need to give it the benefit of the doubt and indulge it on occasion.

Cool, will pick this up, will be the first PC game i've played on my laptop since I bought it (1 year ago!) Doesn't look like the requirements will be that high (i hope), i've got a few gigs of ram etc so should be ok.


Hadn't heard of this before, cheers!

I actually pity the poor bastard who put these words together hoping to create a text.

I downloaded this on launch day, it's absolutely freak-awesome and you should all buy it. GO NOW FOOLS!

That was a really great review.

I think Kieron has done a really good job here of explaining the experience of the game and gesturing at what it's about (and more importantly what it's not about) whilist not completely giving the game away. I played the game after the RPS coverage and felt slightly let down because after reading John's impressions and the comments thread afterwards I found the moral of the "game" itself a lot more trite than I had expected. I think I'd have gone into it with more accurate expectations if I'd read this first.

Unusally I'd suggest anyone who is wondering whether to buy this game could do a lot worse than reading this review alone and not paying any attention to any of the other chatter they might come across about this game in deciding whether it's worth paying for. I say that because a lot of the other chatter I've read has been by people who either get it or don't. Kieron seems to have managed to get it but then step back and look at it again from what I think is a more objective standpoint.

Thanks. I'll say this much - it was a tricky one, y'know?

KG

Now I really need to see what happens in grandma's house when you let the screen get completely black.

You know, when I read that line, I actually had a little shiver.

Don't do it! You'll probably die for real.

KG

Well, someone's got to say it so here goes:

Pretentious bobbins.

I'm totally in the 'games as art' crowd, it's why I don't always like the title 'game' as it implies things that aren't always present. Interactive entertainment? Then that makes me sound like a ponce. I've been following this for a while and it just doesn't sound like it's good art. It wants to be, there's lots in there that's intended to be meaningful and expressive, but it just seems directionless with ideas tossed in because " it's, like.. really deep, man". The developers themselves have stated that the girls are 'ravaged' in some way or other, which just comes over as cheap shock value. I'm not complaining because it doesn't emphasize reflexes or reward you with a high score (in any capacity other than 'ironic'.. ho ho), or even because it's a "being raped simulator" (as I've seen arguments rage over), but because it bears all the hallmarks of people who want to be artists so badly but don't really know what they're doing. Grandma, what big ideas you've got.

Sounds interesting... Since it's only a couple of quid I'll grab this when I get home tonight and settle down with a glass or two. I quite like these arty (for want of a better expression) games/experiences. It's releases like this that keep me gaming.

Games, eh?

I prefer interactive entertainment tyvm.

This review finally convinced to buy this once I'm back on a machine capable of running it. In the meantime, it's made me put Floodland on again. So, success all around really.

The trip through Grandma's house isn't always linear. If you reach the house without a wolf encounter and have unlocked some of the rooms by collecting items/events you can go through alternate routes through the house. Different routes for different girls too, I believe.

Not sure about after a wolf encounter as the 3D doesn't render for me in that instance, it's only worked once and even then the contrast was really low. Then come the flashed stills at the end.

"Comments on the dev's website/blog suggest they'd like to put it on consoles, but currently don't have the means to do so "

It's hard enough getting idiots to understand why ICO and Shadow of the Colossus were superb, good fucking luck to the developers ever getting console owners to accept this game without stripping it of all of its attraction, and filling it with mindless boring shit like fast travel and explosions.

Tiger: It is linear as you play it is the point.

KG

Another point of contention I have is the aspect of "you have to break the rules". When you start playing, the game explicitly tells you in no uncertain terms that you have to stay on the path. Don't leave. Now as the uninformed player, that's what you'll do, stay on the path, get to Grandma's house, and be told that you 'failed'. How subversive. It's in all the pre-release bumph that they've been loudly proclaiming how you have to break this rule if you want to succeed. Not through game design (thankfully not through arbitrary roadblocks at least), but because someone's leaning over your shoulder, bellowing in your ear that you have to break the rule they've already given you, if you want to be met with 'success', which ultimately means your character's rape and death anyway. It's not subversive or clever, it's contrived.

ahh sod it - i just bought it. At the current conversion rate its only £6.80 something. I've had my eye on this for ages and i've always been a keen supporter of indie developments.

Good review. Best i've seen on EG for some time...

"Good review. Best i've seen on EG for some time... "

Indeed. Shame that reviews like this are forever lost in the barrage of uninformed, novelty fuelled reviews this website is now known for.

darleysam: Oh, c'mon. Expecting a little cultural knowledge from the gamer is fine. "Stay on the path" is what Red Riding Hood didn't do, despite being told to. In fact, if you do obey the rules without *understanding* the rules you *have* failed one of the game's few actual puzzles.

(And I think through basic human messing around, you end up going off the path on first try too, even without the cultural allusion)

KG

Excellent review. I was actually expecting a big blue "N/A" where the 7 is.

I wouldn't place that much faith in players. Your basic instinct might be to explore a little, but you fear getting lost (the breadcrumb trail in Fable 2 which encouraged exploration, because you always knew how to get back, for instance). Couple that with the game proudly declaring that you must, above all else, stay on the path, and what is the player expected to do? Yes it's an 'artistic' title so you can expect it to lie to you, but this is something you need to learn. Your basic expectation is that it's telling you what you need to know.

I really think that would have undermined the artistic effect. If you don't get that someone quoting some of the most famous disobeyed instructions of all time means, that's a real deep level of cultural illiteracy. It's putting you in a garden of Eden game and giving the DO NOT EAT THE APPLE command, y'know?

KG

"It's putting you in a garden of Eden game and giving the DO NOT EAT THE APPLE command, y'know?"

Do i need to point out the obvious; "...but most gamers are male"? ;)

Finished with all the sisters except Carmen. I guess part of me expects some kind of closure once all the girls reach granny's house, like some kind of a happier ending, but I know I won't get it. I think that was Walker's problem with it as well, that it ends in doom.

Incredibly, I think I've managed to exhaust everything I have to say about The Path. I'd agree with Kieron's thoughts almost entirely, though would pick up on the lack of variety in the girls' responses as a major problem, and also note that I found parts of the game surprisingly uplifting.

"I guess part of me expects some kind of closure once all the girls reach granny's house, like some kind of a happier ending, but I know I won't get it."

Don't be so sure.

and also note that I found parts of the game surprisingly uplifting.

Yeah, same here. There's the odd scene that's easily on par with Ico's end sequence in that regard.

Anyway, great review. Really will let people find out if it's for them.

Well, the 'game' subverts the language of video games in order to get you to do what it wants you to. The chapter end screen is a fine example. It provides item collection counts, mentions unlocked items, calls you a failure for not meeting the wolf and then assigns a rank. Common goal tracking methods. Those stats combined does a number of things, first it prompts you to wander off the path without it explicitly telling you to do so and as such that action still retains the illusion of being a taboo. It also pushes you to explore more, to track down all those experiences before the chapter ending wolf encounter. The wolf then becoming a secondary taboo, to be avoided but ultimately still a fate to be met.

A secondary collection goal also exists, flowers that sparkle in the distance. They lure you through what is a foreboding environment. An icebreaker for exploration that also doubles as an aid to wayward players by awarding waypoints at collection intervals. Interestingly they also become invisible when you run. Combined with a camera that tilts down and restricting your view they all act as a governor to the player's pace. Thwarting the speed-runner and rewarding the patient.

The slow pace then gives the player time to absorb the experiences rather than allow them to race from one to the next. You're actually less of a player and more of a director. Dictating the the general order of events and relinquishing control to the the character of each girl rather than interacting directly with the world. Many would think it a dichotomy but this actually strengthens the immersion.

I bought this off Steam pretty much as soon as it became available, after hearing about it on another forum.

I remember, before I actually purchased it, visiting the developers website to check out what it was about. Upon watching the trailer there I was almost instantly reminded of this film:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087075/

Which just happens to be one of my favourite films ever, and pretty much sold the deal for me there and then. The "game" itself is an intriguing little gem, with tonnes of atmosphere, but as Kieron said, not for everyone. I prefer to think of it as a sort of interactive experience, something that you really need to invest some time in and let it wash over you to get the most out of it.

It really is a very personal thing, you'll either love it or hate it, but it is at least different.

Great review by the way KG.

So the player figures out that it's overtly referencing Little Red Riding Hood, they 'break the rule' and wander off the path to meet their unfortunate and shocking demise, and that elevates it to good art? That's giving far too much credit to the developers. It's all well and good taking that, but what do you do with it? I'm hearing that it's atmospheric, meaningful and subversive, but not seeing any evidence to back this up. That's why I feel it's shallow and aimless. It does these things with no clear direction. Yes, art can be 'left open to interpretation', but it's a bad artist that just does things with no clear idea in the first place.